Month: September 2010

“The majority of the world’s major cities are situated on or near the coast, including New York, Shanghai, London…. The large deltas of the Nile, the Mekong and the Ganges are home to millions of people and are equally at risk. And the by-products of global warming will be more severe droughts, more frequent flooding and more lethal hurricanes. Even people living well inland may … Continue reading Could you be the next eco-refugee?

Watch this Nissan commerical promoting its electric Leaf, and then check out the New York Times article about the controversy surrounding the advertisement. What’s your opinion regarding the effectiveness and/or the approriateness of the ad? From the New York Times: A Bear Hug? Nissan Ad Raises Eyebrows Rudolph, John C. “A Bear Hug? Nissan Ad Raises Eyebrows – NYTimes.com.” Energy and Environment – Green Blog. … Continue reading Drive a Leaf, Save a Bear

Last semester, the Furman University Student Activities Board (FUSAB) announced its plans to bring actor-turned-rapper Drake to campus for the university’s annual spring concert. My interest was piqued when I learned that the concert was going to be a part of the environmentally-focused “Campus Consciousness Tour.” How, I wondered, could a rap concert (of all things) be considered eco-friendly? The Campus Consciousness Tour, which is … Continue reading The Four R’s: Reduce, Reuse, Recycle, and Rap

I went to an all-boys school for twelve years before coming to Furman, so you can imagine what my friends thought when I told them that I was interested in electric cars: “Psh… you hippie,” “My Hummer could squash those things,” and “Why would anyone drive one of those?” The one central idea of all of these comments was that electric cars weren’t “manly” enough. … Continue reading Electric Cars Can Go How Fast?

What constitutes being a “green” or a “sustainable” business or organization? Check out the Greenwashing Index to learn more about this topic. Here’s an excerpt from the website’s “About” page: What is Greenwashing? It’s Whitewashing, But With a Green Brush. Everyone’s heard the expression “whitewashing” — it’s defined as “a coordinated attempt to hide unpleasant facts, especially in a political context.” “Greenwashing” is the same … Continue reading Beware of Greenwashing!

“If we divide the total extent of the planet’s usable surface by the number of people in the world, we obtain the figure of approximately 4.4 acres (1.8 hectares) per human being. An American, however, ‘consumes’ an average of 23.2 acres (9.4 hectares) and a European 11.8 acres (4.8 hectares). If the entire population of the world lived like the USA, we would need six … Continue reading “If the entire population of the world lived like the USA…”

We see evidence of climate change all around us; glaciers are melting at an exceedingly fast rate, sea levels are beginning to rise because of this melt, and the future of agriculture lies in the balance, as land and vegetation change will soon determine agricultural success in a certain area. These effects are coupled with the need to understand exactly where and how drastically climate … Continue reading Climate Change and Termites